i would like to think that oda has planned a strong character-centric arc for both chopper and robin in the future, but we've had significant background information and drama surrounding both of them already.

taking that into account the ominous possibility of both chopper and robin dying COULD happen... i really hope not though, robin is one of my favourite characters, along with enel.

ugh if any of the crew died it would be a tragedy beyond words and i just really hope it's not going to happen (i still tend towards it not happening because of the vital role each member serves, both in a practical and a crew-dynamic sense).

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The number theory is pretty mindblowing, it just exemplifies how much planning is involved in OP. Some of my favorite theories are:

1. Diamond Jozu will have his devil fruit taken by Shiryu, who will then become Zoro's designated rival in the eventual "Straw Hats vs Blackbeard pirates battle". Zoro will beat Shiryu by cutting through diamond with a sword. (LOL)
2. The world government will taken down by the revolutionists + straw hats towards the end of the series. Aokiji will join the revolutionaries.
3. Law has Luffy's heart and is planning to use it as a bargaining chip. This was a semi-popular theory that reached critical mass when Law actually showed up in Punk hazard but it's losing speed now, since Law seems like a fairly amicable guy (though it could be a facade...!)

Urgh there's too much to talk about in OP.

BTW

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Did anyone notice the man smoking the cigar in the bottom left panel? He kind of reminds of Shiryu.

Since I'm an Anime follower (which makes me an America and you manga freaks Canadian) I see every crew member fit in Luffy's ideal crew completely if you remember the very beginning (Cook, Swordsman, Navigator, Shipwright, Doctor and lawl Musician).

Only Robin stands out (Ussop has proven himself useful in running the ship and it's weaponry) since her main area of expertise, historian is of little use to Pirating and as you all know she forced her way into the ship. However seeing that time and again we see parallels being drawn between the Straw Hats and the Roger Pirates (who digged history and understood it according to Silver) and the part where Luffy stated he wanted at least 10 crew members, I can't see her as merely a guest crewmate.

Usually when numbering the crew on color spreads however, Oda will include Luffy as #1 thus the crew members get +1 added onto their numbers. For most of the crew members, Oda designates their number in the title of the chapter in which they join. For some like Nami and Usopp, their numbers were designated after they returned to the crew for previously leaving it. Only Chopper and Robin so far have no chapters whose titles designate them. In the case of Robin, though she has yet to have a number chapter, she however was numbered as the 7th one in the anime. This however refers to her being the 7th character in the crew which includes Luffy.

I expect Robin's numbered chapter will have something to do with the revolutionaries, since she has spent more time with them than with the Strawhats. Then again, she already had her betrayal crisis during Enies Lobby.

Chopper's may have something to do with his Monster point? While it's true he currently has very good control of it, something like believing Luffy to have been killed could trigger a full-blown monster rampage where he severely harms the other crew members and, in the aftermath, runs away in fear that they hate him now. He could be picked up by one of Luffy's numerous enemies and used against them, although I suppose that would just be Enies Lobby pt2...

and if we're allowed to list favorite chars too:

1) Enel
Man I keep wanting to say Eneru but everyone calls him Enel and and and

Well, I like him because his personality strikes me as someone who was born into nobility and then happened upon great power. He is a very entitled person, and his every word and action reinforce that. Even after he's defeated, he apparently succeeded in his goal of reaching the Infinite Vearth, which was evidently the moon. His powers are also cool.

2) Kizaru
Borsolino!! I like him because, even if he seems somewhat incompetent at first, it turns out that he's just a little weird. He shows a consistently level head and, despite being one of the most powerful Logia we've seen, assesses the strength of opposing DF powers rather than assuming "LOL IM A LOGIA, GUESS NOTHING CAN STOP ME"

He's also shown he can be serious, and was the only one of the Admirals who gave subordinates a heads-up. As far as non-pirates go, I think Kizaru is one of the cooler ones.

/
3) Aokiji / Crocodile
Notice a pattern here? I like strong Logias. I have these two tied because I can't properly choose between them. I like Aokiji because he's so laidback and easygoing most of the time, but when push comes to shove he's one of the strongest badasses in the series.

I like Croc because he has a specific kind of menace about him. He is very professional about his villainy, unlike most other villains. As much as I love Enel, his approach to conquering Skypeia (fight a huge war until everyone is dead) was kind of retarded, and his goals involved nothing but destruction, which I guess fits in with the "entitled noble" vibe I get off of him. Crocodile picked his subordinates with care and set up a system where the stealthiest, most competent members of his organization could rise to the top. Was it perfect? No, but it almost beat the Straw Hats. Croc also understood his subordinates' strengths and weaknesses, and made an effort to understand his opponents' strengths and weaknesses.

4) BEN BECKMAN
idk why, I just think he's a fuckin badass

5) Franky
He's upgradable, hilarious, and when he fuses with the Thousand Sunny he gets his regent haitcut back except it's made of a drill. I debated putting Brook here, but I like that Franky is a transhumanist to some degree and is not shy about upgrading himself and boasting about the upgrades.

Wtf... What were you expecting? One of the main reasons why Oda is so beloved is because he knows his audience and his crafts' limits.

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I was expecting some semblances of Character Development. Having a Caricature parading through adventures and stories without ever making any real decision that matters is just not entertaining to me. Some people like Soap Operas, I don't. Even Power Rangers has character development so saying "he knows OP is for teenagers" is odd to say, since Character Development is not only for adults.

Just read the manga and you will see how the characters actually grow without changing their personalities.

Aldaron.. how is that a theory? I mean where is the theory part in that? I mean, as we all know, Odas planning is unheard of so it is obvious they will get their own numbered chapters. And Vader, she did not want to betray them in EL, she in fact was throwing her life away to save them. EL was mostly to show that Robin had grown to trust them and them in her. I'm excited to see Chopper have doubts or whatever.

1. Diamond Jozu will have his devil fruit taken by Shiryu, who will then become Zoro's designated rival in the eventual "Straw Hats vs Blackbeard pirates battle". Zoro will beat Shiryu by cutting through diamond with a sword. (LOL)

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I never understood why this would make any sense. I mean, Zoro has Haki... Which lets him completely bypass any DF-given defenses... The diamond body would add no protection in close combat. It might however completely stop Zoros long range attacks. That's not worth it in my opinion.

I was expecting some semblances of Character Development. Having a Caricature parading through adventures and stories without ever making any real decision that matters is just not entertaining to me. Some people like Soap Operas, I don't. Even Power Rangers has character development so saying "he knows OP is for teenagers" is odd to say, since Character Development is not only for adults.

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It does have CD(lets abreviate). However, it is really minute in Luffys case. Who just happens to be the main character. So you might not notice it a lot. My fellow OP-tarts can vouch for me when i say that most minor and main characters grow over the course of the series. Let's use an example in Crocodile. He is the first villain that completely overpowered Luffy(after the Chopper arc). He at first was a cold, sadistic, arrogant and cruel monster. However by the end of the first half he changed quite a bit. Enough to actually be noticeable(which is why im using him as an example). Unlike most others who grow but you kind of don't realize it because of the length of the manga. Anyways, Crocodile remained arrogant but lost most of his other traits that made him a "villain" earlier in the series. It was accomplished by Luffy beating the crap out of him and destroying his dream(Oda considers that to be a bigger punishment than death, which is why he hates and rarely kills), rotting in jail and then saved from jail by Luffy. Seeing Luffy in his most desperate moments touched even this monsters heart and by the end of the first half he basically threw his life away to save Luffy(fellow OP-tarts: when he stepped up against Akainu, which = death). He became a likeable character and an ally of Luffy.

That's just one example out of literally dozens in which a character(sometimes former villain) grows and change drastically. Robin is the best example in the SH crew.. or at least the most noticeable.

That is literally the opposite of growth.

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I meant that mostly about Luffy. Other characters grow and sometimes their personalities change for the better. Luffy on the other hand is different. This guy has remained pretty much the same throught the entire manga. Or his personality has. Same with Zoro and Sanji. The reason for that is that they are just badasses. They have cried several times, however these guys bleed the word tough. They have grown up in terrible environments, usually life and death their whole lives. These 3 are not some green characters that are oblivious towards the cruelty of the world. They are battle hardened monsters. They may not know much of anything, fatcs, places, customs etc but they are very hard headed thanks to their tough childhoods. Which makes changing their personalities pretty hard without being completely dumb.

Main point... Luffy appears the same throught the manga but it is mostly because his character has a very strong will and a very hard head(only almost broken once) and Oda wants to remain consistent. His character rarely falters. Other characters do however grow throught the manga. The main characters do so less than others which is why they appear to stay the same. Just remember this is a very long manga and the first half took place in around 2 months in OP world. Just remember that. Everything is slow in this manga and for a character to dramatically change, something really shocking must happen to them. Which was in Croc case. Otherwise it would really look silly for a character be completely different in a couple of weeks... Except Coby, whose shocking physical change is quite unique.

Also, there is a theory that involves around Virgo's mysterious ability. Hamburger steak doesn't get stuck on someone's face just like that. Add the fact that Law was unable to stand up from the presence, and he immediately felt the force on his knees. Vergo could be translated as 'bowing down to someone', or Virgo could be translated as 'gravitational tool'. I'm pretty convinced.

Aldaron.. how is that a theory? I mean where is the theory part in that? I mean, as we all know, Odas planning is unheard of so it is obvious they will get their own numbered chapters.

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The explanation part is what I said, the theory part is that Chopper / Robin might end up leaving the crew / dying.

I never understood why this would make any sense. I mean, Zoro has Haki... Which lets him completely bypass any DF-given defenses... The diamond body would add no protection in close combat. It might however completely stop Zoros long range attacks. That's not worth it in my opinion.

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We actually don't know exactly how armament haki works. Most people assume that armament haki allows you to hit a df user's true body (because rayleigh said so), but what happens when a df user uses armament haki himself? We've already seen wb use armamanet haki enforced attacks and stab Aokiji and Kizaru, and they were seemingly unharmed. It obviously isn't only a 1 way thing (as in armament haki is 100% a way to remove the df effects), it seems to work both ways, as in a df user can use haki to to defend against haki.

If it truly does end up being a 2 way thing, it's a good thing for op. Battles won't be over simplified to "lolol haki," but will have interesting "scales of effect."

Also in response to franky...fucking love that idea lol. You always have the best theories. Gravitational opponent is also a nice warm up for the eventual inevitable blackbeard fight :P

Also, loved the spoon on the side of vergo's face; really enjoying his gimmick so far.

I have a theory about it myself. I believe that CoA(Armor Haki) does work both ways and that the user with stronger CoA wins. To put it better, i believe that the stronger CoA smashes the weaker one. The best example is Akainu, whom i believe is the best CoA user other than WB and Shanks. Akainu has shown the unique ability to be immune to haki based attack. I believe Marco and Vistas CoA couldn't break through Akainus' and that's why he didn't get hurt. That also means that Kizarus CoA mastery is not as good as Akainus(same with Aokiji) as Marco managed to hit both but not Akainu. Remember, wether or not Kizaru/Aokiji got hurt does not matter. What matters is that his attacks managed to make physical contact with them. The fact that they didn't get hurt only speaks in volume of how insanely durable they are. Also, remember that Marcos attack on Akainu was also a sneak attack.

Another theory:

I believe that you can use CoA in two ways. The invisible armor and the black armor that Luffy and Vergo used. The IA(invisible armor) provides more defense and is quicker to activate. The black armor provides less defense, as it is making contact with the actual body(think Gaaras sand shield and armor) and makes some types of attacks stronger.

So you think they might die? Eh i just think they will be involved in something big and get major screen time. I don't think they will die or leave.

Hey @valkry, if this doesn't convince you i don't know what else to say:

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Oda is a genius when it comes to planning and foreshadowing. Unrivaled in my opinion considering the length of the manga. One of the craziest things he has done revolves around a Time Skip(TS). We usually hate TS because it usually means the writer either screwed himself over or has nothing else to write about. TS also happen to be as cliche as it gets. I was appauled by the idea myself. But the way Oda did it... The way he pulled it off is insane. It basically told us cynics: "shut the f*ck up i can still write. This is where i wanted to go with the story". I don't know how much a TS was on his mind, but we really can't say he was forced into it. Basically what happened was that the Strawhat(SH) crew got into some series shit and ended up in a fight against real monsters. Long story short they got wiped out and separated from eachother. The story then imitiately followed Luffy and his lone adventures. 100+ chapters and roughly 23 months(in our world) later a 2 year TS was called. By Luffy in the story... Keep in mind that in OP time, those 100+ chapters of pre-TS Luffy story happened in a couple weeks. Then he called for a TS. They were to meet 2 years later. Oda decides to take a month break to gather his thoughts. OP comes back on... Exactly two years from when they initially got separated. Exactly two years passed in real time and OP time since we last saw the SH crew together. Now, how absurd is that? I seriously could not believe it.... It could be a coincidence.. right? Oda is crazy enough to do this. This is the manga that almost ruined his marriage after all. Setting this up is exactly what Oda would do.

That's why fans call Oda, GODa. The amount of thought he puts into the manga is insane. Something that happened in the first chapter is later confirmed as Haki 300+(~5 years) later. That's why fans obsess so much about every little thing in the manga. Everything is in the manga for a reason. Every panel is stuffed with incredible artwork(later in the series) and detail.

Also, there is a theory that involves around Virgo's mysterious ability. Hamburger steak doesn't get stuck on someone's face just like that. Add the fact that Law was unable to stand up from the presence, and he immediately felt the force on his knees. Vergo could be translated as 'bowing down to someone', or Virgo could be translated as 'gravitational tool'. I'm pretty convinced.

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at the moment law revealed that he could switch hearts at punk hazard i figured that law had his heart switched by the real law. so once vergo came in appearance its seems like he could be the real law, while law is really vergo.

their personalities reflect the the other appearance and it would make sense that law (vergo), being a former marine, would have some knowledge on her to get in to marine ford during that arc.

as far as people making a huge deal about oda, i mean, hes a writer. a lot of writers develop back stories for new characters and notes for plans and everything. not a huge deal.

Aldaron, the fact that Oda intentionally left 5 and y open shows that Chopper and Robin are not gonna die, but they will probably leave the crew for a while. If one of them was gonna die, Franky's chapter would've been #6 and Brook's #7 or something, unless Oda does something lame like "The death of #5" which would be sooooo lame and completely uncharacteristic of his writing. Either that, or Vivi ends up becoming a nakama=even more lame/waaayyyy too weak. Oda has stated that he will never kill a character unless their death serves a purpose in the story. Also Robin cannot die since she's the one that will learn everything about the void century.

I think Matthew was referring to current time one piece, not flashbacks (momma mermaid also dies in the flashbacks). Also when was it confirmed Yama (fat guy) died? Robin just threw him off a cliff ...